Memories Lined in Ink
by Lassarina Aoibhell
Summary: Before the final battle, Luso takes a few minutes to look back. AdellexLuso.


Luso leaned back against the stone wall of Lezaford's cottage and balanced the Grimoire on his lap. Cid had snarled at him for being underfoot too often during the preparations for the final battle against Illua, so he was there instead of shopping for the clan. He could kind of understand; everyone was on edge and the different styles of expressing that were starting to clash in really unhelpful ways. Seriously, he'd almost had to break up a serious brawl between Adelle and Cid. It had ended with Adelle flouncing off and Cid threatening to break Luso's head.

It was at that point he'd decided to leave the restocking to Cid and come back to Lezaford's cottage.

He opened the Grimoire and read the first page. Writing and pictures had appeared in the Grimoire seemingly with every step he took in Ivalice, recording his adventures. He wondered if the Grimoire would come back with him when he went home. It would be really cool to have this with him to remember Ivalice.

The first page had a picture of Klesta snarling and spraying spittle in all directions, and Luso chuckled at the fierce avian. It might be funny now, with all the strength and skill he'd gained here, but at the time, he'd been sure he was headed straight for the bird's stomach. It was good that Cid had been there to help him out.

He looked up when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching and saw light gleaming off Adelle's pale hair. "You're going to have to be quieter if you want to sneak up on me," he said lightly.

"If I wanted to sneak up on you, your wallet would already be gone." She perched on a nearby chair and craned her neck to see the Grimoire. "Reminiscing?"

He was too used to Adelle's sharp tone to be upset by it. He shrugged. "Well, not much else to do until we fight, and since Cid threw me out of the store..."

Adelle laughed, but there was something about it that didn't sound right. She twiddled a bit of her hair in her fingertips. "Scared?"

"Yeah, I guess I am," he said.

Adelle made the derisive noise that usually accompanied anything he said that she didn't agree with. Still, she unwound a little bit instead of being curled into a tight knot on the chair. "So you're in here staring at your book?"

Luso shrugged. "I figured I might as well." He turned the page, and grinned at the picture of the defeated Alraune. "Ketchup?" he asked, and offered the book to Adelle.

She laughed. "You were pretty dumb then."

"I guess." Luso turned the page.

Adelle slipped off the chair and settled down next to him. When Luso looked at her curiously, she shrugged. "I guess I've got nothing better to do," she said. She tapped a fingernail against the portrait of the Flowsand Lord. "You screamed like a little girl when you saw him."

"I did not," Luso protested. "That was Ktjn."

"Yeah, like a Viera's going to shriek at something as pathetic as a yowie." Adelle rolled her eyes. "I suppose next you'll say it was Cid?"

Luso flipped pages instead of answering her, and paused at the portraits of Duelhorn. "Do you think they're really gone from Ivalice?" he asked Adelle.

"I'm sure we'll run into them again, assuming you don't go and get yourself killed fighting Illua," she said. "That Duke Snakheart didn't seem like the kind to give up easily."

"No, I guess not." Luso turned another page and groaned. This one had a picture of him dancing for one of Marnot's lady friends.

"I'm kind of scared too," Adelle said, so quietly he almost didn't hear her.

"Of fighting Illua?" Luso asked.

Adelle shrugged. "Of fighting Illua, of her actually being able to summon a demon. I mean it's kind of the same thing, right?"

Luso shut the Grimoire and put it aside. "We've gotten through a lot of hard fights," he said. "We even got to shove a demon back where it came from, remember? That Neukhia thing."

"Yeah, but it hadn't been fully summoned." Adelle fiddled with the ends of her hair again. "I don't mind fighting in the ordinary course of things, but this is serious, Luso."

"I know. If I don't defeat Illua this time, I can't ever go home."

"Would that be so bad?" Adelle asked. "I mean, you like it here...."

"Well, yeah." Luso thought about it for a minute. "I like Ivalice a lot, but Illua's not just a threat to me. She's a threat to everyone here, right? Because she wants to bring that demon through and use it for her own personal power. I can't just let that slide. Besides, my aunt would miss me if I never came back."

"She's not the only one," Adelle muttered.

"Huh?" Luso turned to her, but Adelle looked away.

"Your aunt wouldn't be the only one who missed you," she said eventually, looking at Lezaford's ragged blue curtains like they held the secret to perfect happiness.

"I can't have it both ways," Luso said. "Even if I want to. I wish I could just hop through the Rift and see you and Cid and everyone whenever I wanted to, but I don't think it works that way."

"I guess not," Adelle said.

Luso wondered if she'd hit him if he tried to comfort her.

Adelle scowled. "You're staring at me funny," she accused.

"I'm not," Luso protested. "I was just..."

"Just what?" Adelle could look really scary when she wanted to.

"Look, it'll be okay, all right?" Luso said. "I mean, we haven't even fought Illua yet, let's not worry about what happens after that."

"You can't always be so happy-go-lucky," Adelle said.

"Why not? You usually are." Luso grinned at her, and she laughed a little bit.

"I won't forget you," she said quietly, and leaned toward him. Luso braced himself for a shove or one of Adelle's other sneak attacks, but instead he got a peck on the cheek, so fast he almost wasn't sure it had happened until Adelle was skittering backwards and blushing.

"Adelle—" he began.

"Hey, you two!" Cid shouted from the doorway. "Let's get moving!"

Adelle gave him a fleeting smile and gathered her weapons. Luso tucked the Grimoire back into his backpack and hurried to catch up with her. When he reached out to take her hand, she curled her fingers tight around his, and he had to hide his grin lest Cid mock him for it.

He wondered if that, too, would be preserved in the Grimoire. He hoped so.


End file.
